Workpiece supplying device, robot, and robot system

ABSTRACT

A workpiece supplying device includes a pallet that has a stepped portion and accommodates a workpiece, a vibration unit that applies vibration to the pallet, and a posture change unit that changes a posture of the workpiece.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a workpiece supplying device, a robot,and a robot system.

2. Related Art

In the related art, in a manufacturing line in which mechanical assemblywork of products is performed, a plurality of manufacturing processesare included, components necessary for each manufacturing process aresupplied, and each of the supplied components is grasped by a robot orthe like through image recognition or the like and is moved to anecessary position, thereby being assembled.

JP-A-2010-105081 discloses a bottle picking device in which the bottomsurface of a pallet accommodating workpieces and four wall surfaces ofthe pallet are divided, the bottom surface of the pallet and the wallsurfaces of the pallet can relatively move upward/downward, and theheights of the wall surfaces of the pallet are changed in accordancewith the heights of the workpieces inside the pallet.

JP-A-2015-059008 discloses a chip component supplying device in whichwhen chip components are transported by vibrating a transportation pathmounted with the chip components supplied to a pickup device, the chipcomponents overlapping each other on the transportation path arescattered due to vibration of the transportation path.

However, in the bottle picking device of JP-A-2010-105081, the posturesof a portion of the supplied workpieces are not in the desired postures.Therefore, there have been cases where the above-referenced portion ofthe workpieces cannot be picked up by the bottle picking device.

In the chip component supplying device of JP-A-2015-059008, there is noconsideration of transporting the chip components inside thetransportation path when the chip components are transported to thepickup device such that the period in which the pickup device picks upno chip component is reduced. Therefore, there have been cases whereefficiency of work performed by the pickup device is insufficient.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the invention is directed to a workpiece supplying deviceincluding a pallet that has a stepped portion and accommodates aworkpiece, and a vibration unit that applies vibration to the pallet, inwhich the pallet includes a posture change unit which changes a postureof the workpiece.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device changes theposture of the workpiece. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying devicecan change a posture of a supplying workpiece to a desired posture.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the posture change unit includes a first posturechange unit which is provided on an upper surface of the stepped portionand changes the posture of the workpiece.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device changes theposture of the workpiece by using the first posture change unit providedon the upper surface of the stepped portion. Accordingly, the workpiecesupplying device can change the posture of the workpiece to the desiredposture by using the first posture change unit provided on the uppersurface of the stepped portion.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the first posture change unit includes amounting portion in which the workpiece can be mounted and moved.

With this configuration, in the workpiece supplying device, theworkpiece can be mounted and moved in the mounting portion. Accordingly,the workpiece supplying device can change the posture of the workpieceto the desired posture by moving the workpiece mounted in the mountingportion.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured to include a rotary portion that rotates the mountingportion.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device rotates themounting portion. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can changethe posture of the workpiece mounted in the mounting portion to thedesired posture by rotating the mounting portion.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the posture change unit includes a secondposture change unit which is provided on a stepped surface of thestepped portion and changes the posture of the workpiece.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device changes theposture of the workpiece by using the second posture change unitprovided on the stepped surface of the stepped portion which is includedin the pallet. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can changethe posture of the workpiece to the desired posture by using the secondposture change unit provided on the stepped surface of the steppedportion which is included in the pallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the second posture change unit is a protrusionwhich is provided on the stepped surface.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device changes theposture of the workpiece by using the protrusion provided on the steppedsurface. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can change theposture of the workpiece to the desired posture by using the protrusionprovided on the stepped surface.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the posture change unit includes a third posturechange unit which is provided on any one or both of a lower surface ofthe stepped portion and a stepped surface of the stepped portion andchanges the posture of the workpiece.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device changes theposture of the workpiece by using the third posture change unit providedon any one or both of the lower surface of the stepped portion and thestepped surface of the stepped portion which are included in the pallet.Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can change the posture ofthe workpiece to the desired posture by using the third posture changeunit provided on any one or both of the lower surface of the steppedportion and the stepped surface of the stepped portion which areincluded in the pallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the third posture change unit is a nozzle whichejects gas.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device ejects gas fromthe third posture change unit provided on any one or both of the lowersurface and the stepped surface of the stepped portion included in thepallet. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can change theposture of the workpiece to the desired posture by ejecting gas from thethird posture change unit.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the posture change unit overturns the workpiece.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device overturns theworkpiece. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can change theposture of the workpiece to the desired posture by overturning theworkpiece.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the pallet includes an arc portion in a planarview.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device appliesvibration to the pallet including the arc portion in a planar view, byusing the vibration unit. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying devicecan supply the workpiece along the arc portion of the pallet due tovibration of the vibration unit. As a result thereof, the workpiecesupplying device can cause the workpiece that has not been picked up tocircle around along the arc portion.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the arc portion has a substantial ring shapewhich includes a cut-off portion and is obtained by excluding a circlehaving a second radius that is a radius shorter than a first radius froma circle having the first radius, and on a mounting surface of thepallet, a friction coefficient in a first region on an outer side beyonda third radius which is a length obtained by subtracting a half of thedifference between the first radius and the second radius from the firstradius is lower than a friction coefficient in at least a portion of asecond region on an inner side within the third radius.

With this configuration, in the workpiece supplying device, the frictioncoefficient in the first region on the outer side beyond the thirdradius on the mounting surface of the pallet to which the workpiece istransported is lower than the friction coefficient in at least a portionof the second region on the inner side within the third radius.Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device, the workpieces which aretransported due to vibration can be prevented from gathering toward theouter circumference side of the pallet on the mounting surface of thepallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the mounting surface of the pallet to which theworkpiece is transported has a uniform friction coefficient.

With this configuration, in the workpiece supplying device, the mountingsurface of the pallet to which the workpiece is transported has theuniform friction coefficient. Accordingly, in the workpiece supplyingdevice, processing of the mounting surface of the pallet can be easilyperformed.

One aspect of the invention is directed to a robot which picks theworkpiece from the workpiece supplying device according to any one ofthe aspects described above.

With this configuration, the robot picks the workpiece whose posture ischanged by the workpiece supplying device. Accordingly, the robot canpick the workpiece whose posture is changed to the desired posture.

One aspect of the invention is directed to a robot system including theworkpiece supplying device according to any one of the aspects describedabove, and the robot according to the aspect described above.

With this configuration, in the robot system, the robot picks theworkpiece whose posture is changed by the workpiece supplying device.Accordingly, the robot system can pick the workpiece whose posture ischanged to the desired posture.

As described above, the workpiece supplying device changes the postureof the workpiece. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can changethe posture of the supplying workpiece to the desired posture.

The robot and the robot system pick the workpiece whose posture ischanged by the workpiece supplying device. Accordingly, the robot andthe robot system can pick the workpiece whose posture is changed to thedesired posture.

One aspect of the invention is directed to a workpiece supplying deviceincluding a pallet that accommodates a workpiece and a vibration unitthat applies vibration to the pallet, in which the vibration unitapplies vibration in a case where the workpiece that becomes a pickingtarget mounted in the pallet in an image-capturing range in which animage-capturing unit performs image-capturing does not satisfy apredetermined condition.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device appliesvibration to the pallet in a case where the workpiece that becomes thepicking target mounted in the pallet in the image-capturing range inwhich the image-capturing unit performs image-capturing does not satisfya predetermined condition. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying devicecan efficiently supply the workpiece that becomes the picking targetmounted in the pallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the predetermined condition is a conditionrelated to at least one of the number of the workpieces and a positionof the workpiece.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device appliesvibration to the pallet in a case where the workpiece that becomes thepicking target mounted in the pallet in the image-capturing range inwhich the image-capturing unit performs image-capturing satisfies thecondition related to at least one of the number of the workpieces andthe position of the workpiece. Accordingly, the workpiece supplyingdevice can efficiently supply the workpiece that becomes the pickingtarget mounted in the pallet based on the condition related to at leastone of the number of the workpieces and the position of the workpiece.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured to cause a picking device to preferentially pick theworkpiece positioned in a region set within the image-capturing range inwhich the image-capturing unit performs image-capturing.

With this configuration, in the workpiece supplying device, the pickingdevice picks the workpiece from that positioned in the region set withinthe image-capturing range in which the image-capturing unit performsimage-capturing. Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device, it ispossible to pick up the workpiece preferentially from that transportedprior to other workpieces among the workpieces which become the pickingtargets. As a result thereof, it is possible to efficiently supply theworkpiece that becomes the picking target mounted in the pallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the region includes at least a portion of an endportion of the image-capturing range in a transportation direction ofthe workpiece.

With this configuration, in the workpiece supplying device, the pickingdevice picks the workpiece from that positioned in the region set in theimage-capturing range in which the image-capturing unit performsimage-capturing, that is, the region including at least a portion of theend portion of the image-capturing range in the transportation directionof the workpiece. Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device, it ispossible to pick up the workpiece preferentially from that which seemsto be transported to the outside of the image-capturing range from theend portion of the image-capturing range due to vibration applied to thepallet by the vibration unit, among the workpieces which become thepicking targets. As a result thereof, it is possible to efficientlysupply the workpiece that becomes the picking target mounted in thepallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the pallet has the arc portion in a planar view.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device supplies theworkpiece by applying vibration to the pallet having the arc portion ina planar view. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can resupplythe workpiece that has not been picked up, as the workpiece whichbecomes the picking target.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the arc portion has a substantial ring shapewhich includes the cut-off portion and is obtained by excluding thecircle having the second radius that is the radius shorter than thefirst radius from the circle having the first radius, and at least aportion of the mounting surface of the pallet is provided with arestraint portion which restrains the workpiece from moving toward theouter side in the first region on the outer side beyond the third radiuswhich is length obtained by subtracting a half of the difference betweenthe first radius and the second radius from the first radius.

With this configuration, the workpiece supplying device restrains theworkpiece from moving toward the outer side beyond the third radius.Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device, the workpieces can beprevented from gathering toward the first region of the pallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured such that the arc portion has a substantial ring shapewhich includes the cut-off portion and is obtained by excluding thecircle having the second radius that is the radius shorter than thefirst radius from the circle having the first radius, and at least halfthe image-capturing range of the image-capturing unit is a portion ofthe first region on the outer side beyond the third radius is which thelength obtained by subtracting a half of the difference between thefirst radius and the second radius from the first radius, on themounting surface of the pallet.

With this configuration, in the workpiece supplying device, at leasthalf the image-capturing range of the image-capturing unit is occupiedby a portion of the first region on the outer side beyond the thirdradius of the arc portion of the pallet on the mounting surface of thepallet. Accordingly, for example, in a case where the workpieces gathertoward the first region of the pallet, the workpiece supplying devicecan efficiently supply the workpiece that becomes the picking targetmounted in the pallet.

In another aspect of the invention, the workpiece supplying device maybe configured to cause the image-capturing unit to capture an image ofthe workpiece with the lapse of a predetermined standby time aftervibration caused by the vibration unit stops.

With this configuration, in the workpiece supplying device, theimage-capturing unit captures an image of the workpiece with the lapseof a predetermined standby time after vibration caused by the vibrationunit stops. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device can stand byuntil the change of the posture of the workpiece due to vibration causedby the vibration unit is settled. As a result thereof, theimage-capturing unit can capture an image of the workpiece in a statewhere the posture of the workpiece is stable.

One aspect of the invention is directed to a robot which picks theworkpiece from the workpiece supplying device according to any one ofthe aspects described above.

With this configuration, the robot picks the workpiece supplied by theworkpiece supplying device. Accordingly, the robot can pick theworkpiece which is efficiently supplied by the workpiece supplyingdevice.

One aspect of the invention is directed to a robot system including animage-capturing unit, the workpiece supplying device according to anyone of the aspects described above, and the robot according to theaspect described above.

With this configuration, the robot system picks the workpiece suppliedby the workpiece supplying device. Accordingly, the robot system canpick the workpiece which is efficiently supplied by the workpiecesupplying device.

As described above, the workpiece supplying device applies vibration tothe pallet in a case where the workpiece that becomes the picking targetmounted in the pallet in the image-capturing range in which theimage-capturing unit performs image-capturing does not satisfy apredetermined condition. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device canefficiently supply the workpiece that becomes the picking target mountedin the pallet.

The robot and the robot system pick the workpiece supplied by theworkpiece supplying device. Accordingly, the robot and the robot systemcan pick the workpiece which is efficiently supplied by the workpiecesupplying device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a timepiece assemblingapparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the timepiece assembling apparatus viewed fromabove.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a cut-off portion of a pallet of aworkpiece supplying device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the pallet (the pallet in which a cover isinstalled) viewed from above.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the pallet.

FIG. 6 is another perspective view illustrating the pallet.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a grooveportion.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic shape of aworkpiece.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side sectional view illustrating a lightingportion.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an image of a visual angle regioncaptured by a detection unit (image-capturing unit).

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the palletincluded in the workpiece supplying device of Modification Example 1 ofthe present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a first posturechange unit provided in the pallet, taken along a surface orthogonal toa trailing end portion of the pallet.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a second posturechange unit provided in the pallet, taken along a surface orthogonal tothe trailing end portion of the pallet.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an example of a third posturechange unit provided in the pallet, taken along a surface orthogonal tothe trailing end portion of the pallet.

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating an example of the pallet provided with arestraint portion.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a flow in processingof a second control unit.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating an example of an image of the visualangle region which is captured by the detection unit (image-capturingunit) and in which a first detection region and a second detectionregion are set.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described based on the drawings.

Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a timepiece assemblingapparatus 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of thetimepiece assembling apparatus 1 viewed from above. With reference toFIGS. 1 and 2, a configuration of the timepiece assembling apparatus 1will be schematically described.

The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is set asan apparatus that carries out one of manufacturing processes (assemblyprocesses) in a manufacturing line (timepiece assembly line 1000) inwhich mechanical assembly work of timepieces including a plurality ofmanufacturing processes is performed. The timepiece assembling apparatus1 supplies a workpiece W of the timepiece (FIG. 8) necessary for theprocess thereof and repeatedly executes operations in which the suppliedworkpiece W is grasped by a pickup unit 220 through image recognitionand is moved to a necessary position.

For the convenience of description, the drawings describing the presentembodiment are illustrated while adopting the XYZ-orthogonal coordinatesystem. Specifically, in FIG. 1, the direction from the left side to theright side in the sheet (conveyance direction of the timepiece assemblyline 1000) is referred to as an X-axis direction (positive X-direction). The direction from the hand-side to the outside in the sheet whilebeing orthogonal to the X-axis direction is referred to as a Y-axisdirection (positive Y-direction). The direction from the lower side tothe upper side in the sheet while orthogonal to the X-axis direction andthe Y-axis direction is referred to as a Z-axis direction (positiveZ-direction). The directions are suitably used while having the positiveX-direction as the forward direction (negative X-direction as therearward direction), the positive Y-direction as the left direction(negative Y-direction as the right direction), and the positiveZ-direction as the upward direction (negative Z-direction as thedownward direction).

Specifically, the timepiece assembly line 1000 of the present embodimentis a line in which a movement M (assembling object component) thatbecomes the contents of the timepiece is assembled. The timepieceassembling apparatus 1 is an apparatus which causes a component (theworkpiece W) called a setting lever (FIG. 8) to be embedded in themovement M in the timepiece assembly line 1000. The setting lever is acomponent engaging with a shaft called a winding stem to which a crownis attached, fixing the winding stem, and playing a role as a changeoverswitch for the crown when the time is adjusted.

The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 is configured to have a pickingdevice 20 including a workpiece supplying device 10, and atransportation unit 30 transporting the assembling object component inwhich the workpiece W is embedded. The workpiece supplying device 10 isan apparatus which transports the workpiece W and supplies the workpieceW to the picking device 20. The picking device 20 is an apparatus whichperforms operations of picking up the workpiece W supplied from theworkpiece supplying device 10, moving the workpiece W to the movement Mbeing conveyed in the timepiece assembly line 1000, and causing theworkpiece W to be embedded in the movement M. The picking device 20 andthe workpiece supplying device 10 are installed in a form of interposingthe transportation unit 30 which transports the movement M,therebetween.

The workpiece supplying device 10 is configured to include a pallet 100which transports the workpiece W and has a circular shape in a planarview, a vibration unit 120 which is installed below the pallet 100 andapplies vibration to the pallet 100, and a supply hopper 130 which isinstalled above the pallet 100 and supplies the workpiece W to thepallet 100. Accordingly, the workpiece W supplied to the supply hopper130 falls from a tip portion 1301 onto the pallet 100 due to vibrationof the supply hopper 130. The fallen workpiece W is transported (moves)in the circumferential direction along the front surface of the pallet100 due to vibration of the pallet 100. In the present embodiment, theworkpiece W is transported counterclockwise in a case where the pallet100 is viewed in the upward direction.

The picking device 20 is configured to include the above-describedworkpiece supplying device 10, a detection unit 200, a lighting portion210 (FIG. 9), the pickup unit 220, and a circuit unit (not illustrated).The detection unit 200 detects a position and a posture of the workpieceW inside the pallet 100 in the workpiece supplying device 10. Thedetection unit 200 may be configured to detect (count) the number of theworkpieces W inside the pallet 100. The lighting portion 210 isinstalled on the rear surface side of the pallet 100 and performsirradiation of light toward the pallet 100. The pickup unit 220 picks upthe workpiece W, moves the workpiece W to a predetermined position ofthe movement M being conveyed in the timepiece assembly line 1000, andcauses the workpiece W to be embedded in a predetermined position insidethe movement M.

The circuit unit includes a control unit (not illustrated), whichinstructs the pickup unit 220 to pick up the workpiece W based on adetection result of the detection unit 200. Thereafter, the control unitalso instructs the pickup unit 220 to perform embedment with respect tothe movement M. When the embedment ends, in a case where there is stillthe workpiece W which can be picked up and remains in the pallet 100,the picking device 20 repeats operations of picking up and embedmentagain. The control unit is stored in a portion (not illustrated) of thepicking device 20.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a cut-off portion 107 of the pallet 100 ofthe workpiece supplying device 10. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the pallet100 (the pallet 100 in which a cover 108 is installed) viewed fromabove. FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views illustrating the pallet 100.FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate perspective views in states where the viewpointis changed. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustratinggroove portions 104. With reference to FIGS. 3 to 7, the configurationand the operation of the pallet 100 will be described.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, the pallet 100 is formed to have a diskshape substantially centering around a central axis Ax. A cylindricalfixing portion 101 for fixing the pallet 100 to the vibration unit 120which is installed below the pallet 100 is formed in a central portionof the pallet 100. An edge portion 102 configured to be positioned astep higher than a transportation surface portion 103 for transportingthe workpiece W is formed in an outer circumferential portion of thepallet 100. The fixing portion 101 is also configured to have a heightsimilar to that of the edge portion 102. Therefore, the transportationsurface portion 103 is in a form of being interposed between the fixingportion 101 and the edge portion 102.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the cut-off portion 107 is formed in a portionof the pallet 100. The cut-off portion 107 is widened at a predeterminedangle α from the central axis Ax in the pallet 100. The outercircumferential portion is also partially cut off and is formed to havea cut-off surface portion 1071 which is positioned a step lower than thetransportation surface portion 103.

In other words, the pallet 100 includes an arc portion in a planar view.The arc portion has a substantial ring shape which includes the cut-offportion 107 and is obtained by excluding a circle having a second radiusthat is a radius shorter than a first radius from a circle having thefirst radius. The circle having the first radius is a circle formed bythe outer circumference of the pallet 100 in a planar view. In otherwords, the first radius is a radius of the circle formed by the outercircumference of the pallet 100 in a planar view. The circle having thesecond radius is the circle of the fixing portion 101 in a planar view.In other words, the second radius is a radius of the fixing portion 101in a planar view.

Here, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6, in the present embodiment, thetransportation surface portion 103 is formed in a spiral state centeringaround the central axis Ax and having one round or less. Specifically,in a case where one end portion of the transportation surface portion103 which is cut off due to the cut-off portion 107 is referred to as aleading end portion 103 a, the other end portion is referred to as atrailing end portion 103 b, and a portion returning clockwise from thetrailing end portion 103 b toward the leading end portion 103 a by apredetermined angle β is referred to as a spiral trailing end portion103 c, the transportation surface portion 103 is formed in a so-calledspiral state which gradually rises counterclockwise from the leading endportion 103 a toward the spiral trailing end portion 103 c. Thetransportation surface portion 103 from the spiral trailing end portion103 c to the extent of the trailing end portion 103 b is formed to be asurface portion orthogonal to the central axis Ax. The surface portionis referred to as a flat surface portion 1031.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the cut-off portion 107 is blocked andthe cover 108 is installed in the cut-off portion 107 of the pallet 100.The cover 108 is formed so as to cause the workpiece W to be transportedto the blocked portion as well. Specifically, an outer shapeconfiguration portion 1081 which is configured to have the outer shapeof the pallet 100, and a transportation assistance surface portion 1082which is configured to be the transportation surface portion 103 areintegrated and form the cover 108. The transportation surface portion103 including the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 is anexample of the mounting surface of the pallet 100.

The transportation assistance surface portion 1082 of the cover 108 isformed in a spiral state similar to that of the transportation surfaceportion 103. Specifically, in a case where the cover 108 is installed inthe cut-off portion 107, the spiral shape of the transportation surfaceportion 103 is also formed in the transportation assistance surfaceportion 1082 in a uniformly extending state. Accordingly, as illustratedin FIG. 5, a step difference is generated between the trailing endportion 103 b of the transportation surface portion 103 and thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082 of the cover 108.Hereinafter, the portion of the step difference will be referred to as astepped portion 105. In the stepped portion 105, a side surface betweenthe trailing end portion 103 b of the transportation surface portion 103and the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 of the cover 108will be referred to as a stepped surface 1051 hereinafter. In otherwords, it is possible to mention that the stepped portion 105 includesthe stepped surface 1051 intersecting the circumferential direction ofthe pallet 100.

The cover 108 is configured to be attachable/detachable with respect tothe cut-off portion 107 and is fixed to the cut-off portion 107 by twoscrews SC1. The cover 108 is removed from the cut-off portion 107 in acase of switching the workpieces W to be transported to the pallet 100.A member (not illustrated) is installed in the cut-off portion 107, andthe workpieces W which have been transported thus far are collected inthe member. After the member is removed from the cut-off portion 107,the cover 108 is installed in the cut-off portion 107 again. Thereafter,workpieces W to be newly transported are input in the pallet 100.

A plurality of the groove portions 104 are formed in the transportationsurface portion 103 of the pallet 100 in a concentric manner centeringaround the central axis Ax. Even though there is a protrusion on theouter surface of the workpiece W to be transported, the groove portions104 serve as portions which restrain the workpiece W such that theposture of the workpiece W becomes a desired posture in thetransportation surface portion 103, by guiding (leading) the protrusioninto the groove portion 104. When the protrusion of the workpiece W isguided into the groove portion 104, the workpiece W is mounted on thetransportation surface portion 103 in the desired posture, thereby beingtransported. In the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7,eighteen groove portions 104 in total are formed at equal pitches P. Nogroove portion is formed in the transportation assistance surfaceportion 1082 of the cover 108 transporting the workpiece W.

In the present embodiment, the desired posture is a posture in which thepickup unit 220 can properly and reliably pick up the workpiece W. Thedetailed description will be given later. However, the desired postureindicates a posture in which the front surface of the workpiece W to bepicked up is substantially parallel to the transportation surfaceportion 103 and is oriented in the upward direction. In other words, theprotrusion of the workpiece W is guided into the groove portion 104, andthe rear surface thereof comes into contact with the transportationsurface portion 103. Hereinafter, for the convenience of description,the above-referenced posture will be referred to as a front surfaceposture in the description.

Here, the dimension value of each portion in the pallet 100 will bedescribed. The workpiece W described below is considered to be theworkpiece W including the setting lever and timepiece assemblycomponents other than the setting lever. The pallet 100 of the presentembodiment is also configured to be able to be used for transporting thesetting lever and the components other than the setting lever.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, an outer shape D of the pallet 100measures φ 210 mm, which is the maximum outer shape of the palletallowed in the vibration unit 120. An inner diameter d of the pallet 100measures φ 200 mm, which is equal to ten times or greater than the outershape dimensions (on the assumption that the maximum outer shapedimensions of the workpiece W measures 17 mm) of the workpiece W to betransported. As illustrated in FIG. 5, a step difference H1 of thestepped portion 105 measures 4 mm, which is equal to or greater than theminimum outer shape dimensions (on the assumption that the minimum outershape dimensions of the workpiece W measures 4 mm) of the workpiece W.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a depth H2 of each groove portion 104 measures0.5 mm, and the height of the greatest protrusion of the workpiece W isassumed to measure 0.3 mm. A width H3 of each groove portion 104measures 0.8 mm, and the diameter of the greatest protrusion of theworkpiece W is assumed to measure 0.5 mm. The pitch P of the grooveportions 104 measures 3.8 mm, which is set within a range from one timeto two times the maximum dimensions of the outer shape of the workpieceW including a portion (projection portion) of the workpiece W which isguided into the groove portion 104.

The pallet 100, excluding the cover 108, is configured to havelight-transmitting characteristics. In the present embodiment, thepallet 100 is configured to be made from a synthetic resin materialhaving light-transmitting characteristics (in the present embodiment, apolycarbonate resin having light-transmitting characteristics). Thecover 108 is configured to be made from a synthetic resin materialhaving no light-transmitting characteristics.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic shape of theworkpiece W. With reference to FIG. 8, description will be givenregarding the shape of the setting lever which is the workpiece W of thepresent embodiment.

The workpiece supplying device 10 of the present embodiment supplies thesetting lever as the workpiece W which is an assembly component of atimepiece. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the setting lever (hereinafter,will be referred to as the workpiece W) is formed to have the plate-likeouter shape which is diversely indented. A penetrating hole portion B1is formed in the workpiece W. A protrusion C1 protruding in acylindrical manner is formed on a front surface Wa of the workpiece W,and a protrusion C2 protruding in a similarly cylindrical manner isformed on a rear surface Wb.

Dimensional relationships of the workpiece W (setting lever) illustratedin FIG. 8 will be schematically described.

The height of the protrusion C1 of the workpiece W from the frontsurface Wa measures 0.3 mm. The height of the protrusion C2 from therear surface Wb also measures 0.3 mm. The diameter of the protrusion C1measures 0.3 mm, and the diameter of the protrusion C2 measures 0.4 mm.In the outer shape of the workpiece W, a length L1 in the longitudinaldirection measures 5 mm, and a length L2 in the short direction (minimumouter shape) measures 2.5 mm.

In a case where the workpiece W formed as described above is mounted inthe transportation surface portion 103, even if any surface of bothsides (the front surface Wa and the rear surface Wb) of the workpiece Wfaces the transportation surface portion 103 side, the protrusion C1 orC2 comes into contact with the transportation surface portion 103 andthe workpiece W tilts. Accordingly, the workpiece W cannot be stablymounted. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the protrusion C2 on therear surface Wb side is guided into the groove portion 104 for thepurpose of causing the rear surface Wb to be in a posture of beingbrought into contact with the transportation surface portion 103 (aposture in which the front surface Wa is oriented in the upwarddirection). The above-described posture becomes the front surfaceposture which is the desired posture. Hereinafter, for the convenienceof description, the posture in which the front surface Wa is broughtinto contact with the transportation surface portion 103 will bereferred to as a rear surface posture in the description.

In a case where the workpiece W is in the front surface posture, thebelow-described picking device 20 can pick up the workpiece W. Inaddition, the picking device 20 can perform embedment of the workpiece Wwith respect to the movement M at a movement destination after beingpicked up. In the present embodiment, the picking device 20 picks up theworkpiece W through a portion on the surface of a pickup region A3 whichis set on the front surface Wa. Specifically, in the present embodiment,the picking device 20 performs a pickup operation through suctioning.

Subsequently, description will be given regarding transportation of theworkpieces W in the workpiece supplying device 10.

First, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the workpieces Ware supplied tothe supply hopper 130. The supply is performed by a worker. Theworkpieces W supplied to the supply hopper 130 are input to the pallet100 by falling from the tip portion 1301 onto the pallet 100 positionedbelow the tip portion 1301, due to vibration of the supply hopper 130.Specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the workpieces W areinput to an input region Al which becomes a portion slightly movingcounterclockwise from the leading end portion 103 a of thetransportation surface portion 103 of the pallet 100.

The workpieces W input to the input region Al begin to be transportedcounterclockwise toward the trailing end portion 103 b in thetransportation surface portion 103 of the pallet 100 due to vibration ofthe vibration unit 120. In the present embodiment, an electromagnetictype adopting an electromagnet is employed as the vibration unit 120. Apiezoelectric type adopting a piezoelectric element, or the like may beemployed as the vibration unit 120.

While the workpiece W moves in the transportation surface portion 103,there are cases where the protrusion C2 is guided into the grooveportion 104 so that the workpiece W moves in a posture in which the rearsurface Wb is in contact with the transportation surface portion 103(the desired posture, that is, the front surface posture) and caseswhere the workpiece W moves not in the desired posture. In a case wherethe workpiece W passes through the spiral trailing end portion 103 c ofthe transportation surface portion 103, the transportation surfaceportion 103 moves not on a surface which is inclined in a spiral statebut in the flat surface portion 1031 which has a flat surface (a surfaceorthogonal to the central axis Ax).

In the present embodiment, a region where the below-described pickingdevice 20 performs picking up is set in a region from the spiraltrailing end portion 103 c to the trailing end portion 103 b of thetransportation surface portion 103. Specifically, as illustrated inFIGS. 3 to 5, among the workpieces W, the workpiece W in the desiredposture is picked up in a visual angle region A2 which is asubstantially rectangular region.

The workpiece W not positioned within the visual angle region A2 or theworkpiece W positioned within the visual angle region A2 but not in thefront surface posture which is the desired posture moves in the flatsurface portion 1031 and arrives at the trailing end portion 103 b. Theworkpiece W still moves thereafter, and the workpiece W falls from thestepped portion 105 formed in the trailing end portion 103 b onto thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082 of the cover 108. Theworkpiece W which falls onto the transportation assistance surfaceportion 1082 moves in the transportation assistance surface portion 1082and arrives at the leading end portion 103 a . Thereafter, the workpieceW repeats movement again.

As described above, a course of transporting the workpiece W in thepallet 100 of the workpiece supplying device 10 corresponds to atransportation process in a picking method. The picking method of thepresent embodiment includes the transportation process, a detectionprocess, and a pickup process. The detection process and the pickupprocess will be sequentially described hereinafter.

The pitch P of the groove portions 104 measures 3.8 mm. In the presentembodiment, the pitch P thereof is set to one time the maximumdimensions (L3) to the extent of the outer shape of the workpiece Wincluding the protrusion C2 of the workpiece W guided into the grooveportion 104. Accordingly, even in a case where the protrusions C2 of theworkpieces W are respectively guided into the groove portion 104 and anadjacent groove portion 104, transportation in which the workpiece W andthe different workpiece W overlap each other is reduced as much aspossible. Moreover, separation of the workpieces W from the grooveportion 104 caused by mutual collision of the workpieces W, and the likeis reduced. Thus, stable transportation is conducted.

The step difference H1 of the stepped portion 105 measures 4 mm, and theminimum outer shape dimensions (L2) of the workpiece W of the presentembodiment measures 2.5 mm. Accordingly, the probability of the postureof the workpiece W being in the front surface posture which is thedesired posture (the posture in which the protrusion C2 is guided intothe groove portion 104) through successive transportation is improved bycausing the workpiece W that has not been picked up to fall from thestepped portion 105.

Subsequently, the configuration and the operation of the picking device20 will be described.

The picking device 20 of the present embodiment is configured to includethe above-described workpiece supplying device 10, the detection unit200, the lighting portion 210, the pickup unit 220, and the circuit unit(not illustrated) including the control unit. As illustrated in FIGS. 1and 2, the detection unit 200 detects the position and the posture ofthe workpiece W inside the pallet 100 in the workpiece supplying device10. The detection unit 200 includes an image-capturing unit 201 whichacquires image data of the workpiece W inside the pallet 100. Theimage-capturing unit 201 is configured to be a camera adopting a chargecoupled device (CCD). The detection unit 200 is installed above the flatsurface portion 1031 of the pallet 100 and captures an image within thevisual angle region A2 which is set in the flat surface portion 1031.The visual angle region A2 is an example of the image-capturing range.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side sectional view illustrating the lightingportion 210. With reference to FIG. 9, the configuration and theoperation of the lighting portion 210 will be described.

The picking device 20 includes the lighting portion 210 which assistsimage-capturing performed by the detection unit 200. As illustrated inFIG. 9, the lighting portion 210 is configured to have a flat plateshape and is installed on the rear surface side of the pallet 100 wherethe pallet 100 is partially cut off. Specifically, the lighting portion210 is installed at a cut-off place of the rear surface side of thepallet 100 which is positioned toward the downward direction of the flatsurface portion 1031 of the pallet 100. The lighting portion 210 isconfigured to adopt a light emitting diode (LED). The lighting portion210 performs irradiation of light toward the pallet 100 positionedthereabove.

The pallet 100 is configured to have light-transmitting characteristicsas described above and transmits light from the lighting portion 210.Particularly, the flat surface portion 1031 facing the lighting portion210 maximally transmits light. However, in the present embodiment, thepallet 100 in its entirety transmits light as well. In contrast, sincethe workpiece W inside the pallet 100 is configured to be made frommetal in the present embodiment, the workpiece W blocks light which hasbeen transmitted through the pallet 100 (the transportation surfaceportion 103). Accordingly, in a case where the image-capturing unit 201captures an image of the visual angle region A2, the contrast ratio ofthe workpiece W and the pallet 100 can be improved, and thus, the imageof the position (shape) or the posture of the workpiece W can be clearlycaptured.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an image of the visual angle region A2captured by the detection unit 200 (image-capturing unit 201). Withreference to FIG. 10, the operation of the control unit will bedescribed.

The control unit analyzes (performs image processing) an image as adetection result from the detection unit 200 and selects the workpiece Wwhose protrusion C2 is guided into the groove portion 104 and whosefront surface Wa is oriented in the upward direction. FIG. 10illustrates a state where three workpieces W such as workpieces W1, W2,and W3 are selected as the workpieces W in the front surface postureswhich are the desired postures (the workpieces W which become pickuptargets, or the workpieces W which become picking targets) as a resultafter the control unit has performed the image processing. The workpieceW whose protrusion C1 on the front surface Wa is guided into the grooveportion 104 and whose rear surface Wb is oriented in the upwarddirection, that is, the workpiece W in the rear surface posture is notselected as the pickup target through the image processing performed bythe control unit, even though the posture thereof is not inclined and isstable.

In a case where the detection unit 200 captures an image of theworkpiece W, the control unit issues an instruction to stoptransportation of the workpiece W performed by the pallet 100 (stoppingvibration of the vibration unit 120). A pickup period that is a periodin which the workpiece W stops being transported becomes a period fromthe time when the image is captured to the time when the last workpieceW that has been selected is picked up. In a case where the pickup periodelapses (the last workpiece W is picked up), the control unit issues aninstruction again to drive the vibration unit 120 so as to vibrate thepallet 100. Accordingly, when the vibration unit 120 starts to vibrate,the pallet 100 restarts transportation of the workpieces W. In thismanner, in the present embodiment, the control unit causes the vibrationunit 120 to be intermittently driven.

In a case where the workpieces W (the workpieces W1, W2, and W3) whichbecome the pickup targets are selected through the image processing, thecontrol unit thereafter outputs an instruction to the pickup unit 220 soas to pick up the target workpieces W1, W2, and W3. The pickup unit 220starts the pickup operation upon the instruction received from thecontrol unit.

As described above, an operation in which an image of the workpiece Wthat is transported through the transportation process is captured bythe detection unit 200 (image-capturing unit 201) of the picking device20, and the workpiece W that becomes the pickup target is selected bythe control unit based on the image-captured data through the imageprocessing corresponds to the detection process in the picking method.As described above, the image-capturing unit 201 captures an image ofworkpiece W which is transported to the visual angle region A2 of thepallet 100.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pickup unit 220 is configured to bea horizontally articulated robot (so-called SCARA robot). The pickupunit 220 is configured to include a first arm 221, a second arm 222, anda pickup shaft 223 which is movably installed inside the second arm 222.The pickup unit 220 moves in an X-direction and a Y-direction by usingthe first arm 221 and the second arm 222 and moves in a Z-direction byusing the shaft 223. In the present embodiment, the pickup unit 220(particularly, the second arm 222) is movably installed between thepallet 100 and the image-capturing unit 201.

In a case where the pickup unit 220 receives an instruction from thecontrol unit so as to pick up the workpiece W1, the pickup unit 220drives the first arm 221 and the second arm 222 based on positional dataof the workpiece W1 in the pickup region A3 instructed by the controlunit, and the pickup unit 220 causes the shaft 223 to be positionedabove the pickup region A3. Thereafter, the shaft 223 moves downward,and the workpiece W1 is picked up by using a picking tool (notillustrated) which is installed in the tip portion of the shaft 223. Inthe present embodiment, picking-up is performed through adsorptionadopting air.

After picking up the workpiece W1, the pickup unit 220 subsequentlyexecutes an operation which is stored through teaching. Specifically,the pickup unit 220 moves the picked-up workpiece W1 to a place abovethe movement M. Subsequently, the shaft 223 is lowered, therebyperforming an embedment operation by plunging the workpiece W1 into themovement M at a predetermined position. In this manner, the operationsfrom when the pickup unit 220 picks up the workpiece W until when theworkpiece W is embedded in the movement M become a series of operations.

In a case where the series of operations end, the pickup unit 220thereafter repeats the series of operations with respect to theworkpieces W2 and W3 in a manner similar to that described above. Thepickup unit 220 picks up the last workpiece W3 and causes the lastworkpiece W3 to be embedded in the movement M, thereby ending thecurrent operation. The pickup unit 220 stands by in a predeterminedposition until the next instruction is received from the control unit.In a case where set conditions are satisfied (in the present embodiment,after the lapse of a predetermined time) the control unit outputs aninstruction to the detection unit 200 so as to capture an image.Thereafter, the control unit performs controlling similar to thatdescribed above.

A cycle time of the timepiece assembly line 1000 of the presentembodiment is set to 2.5 seconds. The timepiece assembling apparatus 1of the present embodiment is operated under the cycle time less than 2.5seconds, thereby catching up the delay occurring in other processes inthe timepiece assembly line 1000.

As described above, an operation of causing the pickup unit 220 to pickup the workpiece W detected through the detection process corresponds tothe pickup process in the picking method. As described above, picking isperformed with respect to the workpiece W which has become the pickuptarget through an analysis of the image performed by the control unit.

According to the above-described embodiment, the below-described effectscan be obtained.

According to the workpiece supplying device 10 of the presentembodiment, in a case where the shape of the workpiece W is a shape inwhich the protrusion C2 is present on the rear surface Wb and theworkpiece W tilts when being placed on a plane surface, the protrusionC2 which is a factor causing the tilt is guided into the groove portion104 disposed on the front surface of the pallet 100 in an arc state.Therefore, the workpiece W can be supplied such that the posture thereofbecomes the desired posture. The workpiece W which is not guided intothe groove portion 104 (the workpiece W which is not in the desiredposture) is caused to fall from the stepped portion 105 having thestepped surface 1051 intersecting the circumferential direction of thepallet 100. Thus, it is possible to improve the probability of being inthe desired posture by causing the position of the workpiece W to betransported so as to deviate from that in the previous transportation,turning the workpiece W upside down, and the like.

According to the workpiece supplying device 10 of the presentembodiment, since the plurality of groove portions 104 are disposed in aconcentric manner, the number of the workpieces W in the desiredpostures can be efficiently increased with respect to the workpieces Whaving the shapes in which the workpieces W tilt when being placed on aplane surface. When the number of the workpieces W guided into thegroove portions 104 increases, separation of the workpieces W from thegroove portion 104 caused by mutual collision of the workpieces W, andthe like is reduced. Thus, stable transportation can be conducted.

According to the workpiece supplying device 10 of the presentembodiment, the flat surface portion 1031 which becomes a surfaceportion orthogonal to the central axis Ax of the pallet 100 is includedin the vicinity of the stepped portion 105. Therefore, in a case wherethe workpiece W which is guided into the groove portion 104 and is inthe desired posture is positioned in the flat surface portion 1031, thepicking device 20 (the pickup unit 220) can pick up the workpiece W.Accordingly, compared to a case where picking-up is performed in thetransportation surface portion 103 in a spiral state (intersecting thecentral axis Ax in an inclined manner) other than the flat surfaceportion 1031, the workpiece W can be accurately picked up in a stableposture.

According to the workpiece supplying device 10 of the presentembodiment, in the pallet 100, when irradiation of light is performedfrom below the pallet 100, there are cases where the light is entirelytransmitted due to light-transmitting characteristics thereof, and thereare cases where the light is blocked by the workpiece W. Accordingly,the position (shape) or the posture of the workpiece W can be clarified.

According to the workpiece supplying device 10 of the presentembodiment, the pallet 100 is configured to include a synthetic resinmaterial (in the present embodiment, a polycarbonate resin) havinglight-transmitting characteristics. Thus, the pallet 100 havinglight-transmitting characteristics can be easily formed.

According to the picking device 20 of the present embodiment, withrespect to the workpieces W supplied by the workpiece supplying device10, the workpiece W can be easily and accurately picked up by the pickupunit 220 due to the detection of the position and the posture of theworkpiece W performed by the detection unit 200, and the instructionissued to the pickup unit 220 by the control unit based on the detectionresult of the detection unit 200.

According to the picking device 20 of the present embodiment, when thelighting portion 210 included on the rear surface side of the pallet 100irradiates the pallet 100 with light, the light can be transmitted dueto light-transmitting characteristics which the pallet 100 has.Accordingly, since the contrast between the workpiece W and thesurroundings can be improved, in a case where the detection unit 200includes the image-capturing unit 201 which acquires the image data ofthe workpiece W, image-capturing can be performed with a high contrast,and detection of the position and the posture of the workpiece W can bemore accurately performed.

According to the timepiece assembling apparatus 1 of the presentembodiment, including the workpiece supplying device 10 supplying theworkpiece W which is necessary to assemble a timepiece such that theposture of the workpiece W is in the desired posture, since there isprovided the picking device 20 which accurately picks up the suppliedworkpiece W, the timepiece can be accurately assembled, and thus,improvement of the cycle time can be realized.

According to the picking method of the present embodiment, the grooveportions 104 of the workpiece supplying device 10 are set to have thepitch P within a range from one time to two times the maximum dimensionsof the outer shape of the workpiece W including the protrusion C2 whichis guided into the groove portion 104. Accordingly, in thetransportation process of the workpiece supplying device 10, even in acase where the protrusions C2 of the workpieces W are respectivelyguided into the groove portion 104 and an adjacent groove portion 104,transportation of the workpiece W and the different workpiece W in anoverlapping state is reduced as much as possible. Moreover, separationof the workpieces W from the groove portion 104 caused by mutualcollision of the workpieces W, and the like is reduced. Thus, stabletransportation can be conducted. In addition, it is possible to performefficient transportation without generating useless space.

Without being limited to the above-described embodiment, the inventioncan be executed by applying various changes, improvements, and the likewithout departing from the gist and the scope thereof. Modificationexamples will be described below.

The timepiece assembling apparatus 1 of the embodiment is an apparatuscausing the setting lever as the workpiece W which is a timepieceassembling component to be embedded in the movement M. However, withoutbeing limited thereto, the workpiece W can be applied as long as theworkpiece W is a component which has the protrusion, the protrusion ofwhich is guided into the groove portion, and then, which can betransported.

In the workpiece supplying device 10 of the embodiment, no grooveportion is formed in the transportation assistance surface portion 1082of the cover 108 in which the workpiece W is transported. However,without being limited thereto, the transportation assistance surfaceportion 1082 may also include the groove portions leading to the grooveportions 104 of the transportation surface portion 103.

The workpiece supplying device 10 of the embodiment copes with multipletypes of the workpieces W by installing the cover 108 in the pallet 100in an attachable/detachable manner, and thus, general-purpose propertiesof the workpiece supplying device 10 are improved. However, withoutbeing limited thereto, in a case where the apparatus may be a dedicatedworkpiece supplying device which transports designated workpieces W, aportion of the cover 108 may be caused to serve as the transportationsurface portion, without installing the cover 108.

In the workpiece supplying device 10 of the embodiment, the pallet 100in its entirety excluding the cover 108 may be formed to havelight-transmitting characteristics. However, without being limitedthereto, the portion having light-transmitting characteristics may be aportion corresponding to at least the region in which an image of theworkpiece W is captured. In the present embodiment, a portioncorresponding to the visual angle region A2 may have light-transmittingcharacteristics.

In the workpiece supplying device 10 of the embodiment, the pallet 100is formed from a synthetic resin material having light-transmittingcharacteristics. However, without being limited thereto, the pallet 100may be formed to include a glass material having light-transmittingcharacteristics.

In the picking device 20 of the embodiment, the lighting portion 210 isnot limited to the LED and may be configured to adopt other types oflight-emitting means such as a cold cathode tube, an organicelectroluminescence (EL), and the like.

Modification Example 1 of Embodiment

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, Modification Example 1of the present embodiment will be described. The workpiece supplyingdevice 10 according to the above-described embodiment may be configuredto include the below-described pallet 100 a in place of the pallet 100.The below-described pallet 100 a may be applied to a configurationdifferent from that of the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the pallet 100a included in the workpiece supplying device 10 of Modification Example1 of the present embodiment.

The pallet 100 a is different from the pallet 100 and includes a firstposture change unit 300 which changes the posture of the workpiece W.Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device 10, the posture of thesupplying workpiece W can be changed to the front surface posture (theposture in which the protrusion C2 is guided into the groove portion104) which is the desired posture by the first posture change unit 300.The pallet 100 a includes the first posture change unit 300 in a portionof the flat surface portion 1031 which is the upper surface of thestepped portion 105.

The first posture change unit 300 includes amounting portion 301, a fallprevention wall portion 302, and a rotary portion 303.

The mounting portion 301 is provided in a portion of the flat surfaceportion 1031 including the trailing end portion 103 b of the pallet 100a. In other words, in Modification Example 1 of the present embodiment,the trailing end portion 103 b is an end portion on the stepped portion105 side in the end portion of the mounting portion 301. The mountingportion 301 is mounted with the workpieces W and rotates in accordancewith rotation of the rotary portion 303. The workpieces W mounted in themounting portion 301 move toward the trailing end portion 103 b due tovibration of the vibration unit 120. In this example, the mountingportion 301 in its entirety is provided outside the visual angle regionA2. A portion or the entirety of the mounting portion 301 may beconfigured to be provided within the visual angle region A2. In thiscase, similar to the transportation surface portion 103, groove portionshaving the same shapes as the groove portions 104 are provided on themounting surface of the mounting portion 301.

The fall prevention wall portion 302 prevents the workpieces W mountedin the mounting portion 301 from falling from the trailing end portion103 b onto the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 which isthe lower surface of the stepped portion 105 due to vibration of thevibration unit 120. In this example, the fall prevention wall portion302 is a wall surface provided perpendicularly with respect to themounting portion 301 in front of the trailing end portion 103 b in adirection in which the workpieces W mounted on the mounting surface ofthe mounting portion 301 move due to vibration of the vibration unit120, on the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301.

The rotary portion 303 rotates the mounting surface of the mountingportion 301 around a rotary axis CA in a radial direction of the pallet100 a in the trailing end portion 103 b. The rotary portion 303 causesthe workpieces W mounted on the mounting surface to fall onto thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082 which is the lowersurface of the stepped portion 105, by rotating the mounting surface ofthe mounting portion 301 as described above. Hereinafter, for theconvenience of description, the clockwise direction in a case where thecentral direction of the pallet 100 a is viewed along the rotary axis CAwill be referred to as the forward direction, and the counterclockwisedirection thereof will be referred to as the opposite direction in thedescription.

The postures of at least a portion of the workpieces W which have fallenonto the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 due to rotationof the mounting portion 301 caused by the rotary portion 303 arechanged. More specifically, in a case where the postures of theworkpieces W mounted on the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301are substantially rear-facing postures which are postures in which theprotrusions C1 are grounded with respect to the surface on which theworkpieces W are mounted, the postures of at least a portion of theworkpieces W are overturned into substantially front-facing postureswhich are postures in which the protrusions C2 are grounded with respectto the surface on which the workpieces W are mounted, by being caused tofall onto the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 inaccordance with rotation of the mounting portion 301 caused by therotary portion 303. In a case where the postures of the workpieces Wmounted on the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301 are thesubstantially front-facing postures, the postures of at least a portionof the workpieces W are overturned into the substantially rear-facingposture by being caused to fall onto the transportation assistancesurface portion 1082 in accordance with rotation of the mounting portion301 caused by the rotary portion 303.

The substantially front-facing posture is the front surface posture thatis a posture in which the protrusion C2 is guided into the grooveportion 104 and the front surface Wa is oriented in substantially theupward direction, that is, the desired posture in a case where theworkpiece W in the above-referenced posture moves to the transportationsurface portion 103 due to vibration of the vibration unit 120. In otherwords, in the workpiece supplying device 10, when the first posturechange unit 300 changes the posture of the workpiece W to thesubstantially front-facing posture, the posture of the workpiece W canbe changed to the front surface posture. Meanwhile, the substantiallyrear-facing posture is a posture in which the protrusion C1 is guidedinto the groove portion 104 and the rear surface Wb is oriented insubstantially the upward direction in a case where the workpiece W inthe above-referenced posture moves to the transportation surface portion103 due to vibration of the vibration unit 120.

The rotary portion 303 rotates the mounting portion 301 in the forwarddirection every time the vibration unit 120 stops vibrating. After themounting portion 301 is rotated in the forward direction, the rotaryportion 303 rotates the mounting portion 301 in the opposite directionso that the mounting portion 301 returns to be in the same position andposture (state) before starting to be rotated in the forward direction.Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device 10, the rotary portion303 rotates the mounting portion 301 every time the workpieces W stopmoving due to vibration of the vibration unit 120, thereby changing thepostures of at least a portion among the workpieces W mounted in themounting portion 301 from the substantially rear-facing postures to thesubstantially front-facing posture.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, when the rotary portion 303rotates the mounting portion 301 every time which is referenced above,the pickup unit 220 can pick up the workpiece W and the first posturechange unit 300 can change the posture of the workpiece W during theaforementioned pickup period. As a result thereof, in the workpiecesupplying device 10, there is no need to temporarily stop vibration ofthe vibration unit 120 in order to change the posture of the workpiece Wby the first posture change unit 300, and thus, it is possible toimprove the efficiency of embedment work of the workpiece W with respectto the movement M performed by the picking device 20. In place thereof,the rotary portion 303 may be configured to rotate the mounting portion301 every time which is different from that described above.

Here, with reference to FIG. 12, description will be given regarding amethod changing the posture of the workpiece W performed by the firstposture change unit 300.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the first posturechange unit 300 provided in the pallet 100 a, taken along a surfaceorthogonal to the trailing end portion 103 b of the pallet 100 a. Asillustrated in FIG. 12, the first posture change unit 300 is provided ina portion of the flat surface portion 1031 including the trailing endportion 103 b of the pallet 100 a.

In this example, the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301 isincluded inside a surface including the surfaces of the groove portions104 provided in the transportation surface portion 103. In other words,a height H10 from a lowest portion BTM of the stepped portion 105 to themounting surface of the mounting portion 301 illustrated in FIG. 12matches a height H11 from the lowest portion BTM of the stepped portion105 to the deepest portion of the groove portions 104. Accordingly, inthe workpiece supplying device 10, the workpieces W can move from thetransportation surface portion 103 to the mounting surface of themounting portion 301 due to vibration of the vibration unit 120. Inplace thereof, the height H10 may be configured to be lower than theheight H11.

The contour of a cross section (the shape of a cross section) of themounting portion 301 matches the contour indicated by the two-dotchained line illustrated in FIG. 12 in a case where the rotary portion303 rotates the mounting portion 301 in a direction of the arrowillustrated in FIG. 12 (that is, the forward direction) centering aroundthe rotary axis CA. In other words, the mounting portion 301 rotates 180degrees in the forward direction centering around the rotary axis CA.

In this case, when the workpieces W are mounted on the mounting surfaceof the mounting portion 301, the workpieces W fall from the mountingsurface of the mounting portion 301 onto the transportation assistancesurface portion 1082. When falling onto the transportation assistancesurface portion 1082, the postures of a portion of the workpieces W arechanged from the substantially rear-facing postures to the substantiallyfront-facing postures, the postures of a different portion of theworkpieces W are changed from the substantially front-facing postures tothe substantially rear-facing postures, and the postures of theremaining portion of the workpieces W are not changed while being in thesubstantially front-facing postures or the substantially rear-facingpostures. Since the workpieces W in the front surface postures arepicked up by the pickup unit 220 in the visual angle region A2, moreworkpieces W in the substantially rear-facing postures are generallymounted on the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301 than theworkpieces W in the substantially front-facing postures.

In a case where the pickup unit 220 picks up all of the workpieces W inthe front surface postures detected in the visual angle region A2, onlythe workpieces W in the substantially rear-facing postures are mountedon the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301, the postures of aportion or the entirety of the workpieces W in the substantiallyrear-facing postures are overturned into the substantially front-facingpostures. Basically, the picking device 20 picks up all of theworkpieces W in the front surface postures detected in the visual angleregion A2 except a case where a configuration described below inModification Example 4 of the embodiment is applied.

Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device 10, the workpieces W inthe substantially rear-facing postures on the mounting surface of themounting portion 301 among the workpieces W which are not selected asthe pickup target by the picking device 20 in the transportation surfaceportion 103 can be overturned so as to be in the substantiallyfront-facing postures. In a case where the postures of the workpieces Ware caused to be the substantially front-facing postures, when moving inthe transportation surface portion 103 due to vibration of the vibrationunit 120, the protrusions C2 of the workpieces W are respectively guidedinto the groove portions 104, and thus, the postures of the workpieces Wchange to the aforementioned desired postures. In other words, in theworkpiece supplying device 10, the rate of supplying the workpieces W inthe front surface postures which are the desired postures to the pickingdevice 20 can be increased by the first posture change unit 300. In thisexample, efficiency of assembling the movement M can be improved.

It is desirable that a fall prevention wall height H1 which is a heightfrom the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301 to an end portionon a side opposite to the mounting surface of the fall prevention wallportion 302 is equal to or higher than a height which becomes thehighest in a case where the workpieces W are mounted on the mountingsurface of the mounting portion 301. This is because there can be caseswhere the workpieces W cannot be prevented from moving due to vibrationof the vibration unit 120 and falling onto the transportation assistancesurface portion 1082 in a case where the fall prevention wall height H1is lower than a height which becomes the highest in a case where theworkpieces W are mounted on the mounting surface of the mounting portion301.

It is desirable that a fall prevention wall height H12 is shorter than adistance H13 between the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301and the lowest portion BTM of the stepped portion 105 when the rotaryportion 303 rotates the mounting portion 301 in the forward direction.This is because the fall prevention wall portion 302 is caught by (isinterfered with) the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 sothat the mounting portion 301 cannot rotate in the forward directionuntil the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301 becomes parallelto the flat surface portion 1031, in a case where the rotary portion 303rotates the mounting portion 301 in the forward direction. The fallprevention wall height H12 may be configured to be longer than thedistance H13 between the mounting surface of the mounting portion 301and the lowest portion BTM of the stepped portion 105 when the rotaryportion 303 rotates the mounting portion 301 in the forward direction.However, in this case, the fall prevention wall height H12 has to be alength to the extent in which the workpieces W fall from the mountingsurface of the mounting portion 301 onto the transportation assistancesurface portion 1082 when the rotary portion 303 rotates the mountingportion 301 in the forward direction.

A mounting surface length L10 which is a length from a surface of thefall prevention wall portion 302 on a side opposite to the steppedportion 105 to the boundary between the mounting surface of the mountingportion 301 and the groove portion 104 (that is, the transportationsurface portion 103) is equal to or greater than the length L1 of theworkpiece W in the longitudinal direction. This is because in a casewhere the mounting surface length L10 is less than the length L1 of theworkpiece W in the longitudinal direction, there is a possibility thatthe workpiece W mounted on the mounting surface of the mounting portion301 falls without rotating together with the mounting surface of themounting portion 301, when the rotary portion 303 rotates the mountingportion 301.

In this example, the length of the fall prevention wall portion 302 inthe direction of the rotary axis CA is the same as the length of thetrailing end portion 103 b in the direction of the rotary axis CA. Inplace thereof, the length of the fall prevention wall portion 302 in thedirection of the rotary axis CA may be configured to be shorter than thetrailing end portion 103 b.

In this manner, in the workpiece supplying device 10, when the pallet100 a includes the first posture change unit 300, the posture of thesupplying workpiece W can be changed to the desired posture (in thisexample, the front surface posture).

The pallet 100 a may be configured to include a second posture changeunit 400 in place of the first posture change unit 300 or together withthe first posture change unit 300. Hereinafter, as an example of theconfiguration in which the pallet 100 a includes the second posturechange unit 400, description will be given regarding a case where thesecond posture change unit 400 is included in place of the first posturechange unit 300 described in FIGS. 11 and 12.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the posture of the supplyingworkpiece W can be changed to the front surface posture (the posture inwhich the protrusion C2 is guided into the groove portion 104) by thesecond posture change unit 400. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the pallet100 a includes the second posture change unit 400 at a portion on thestepped surface 1051 of the stepped portion 105.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the second posturechange unit 400 provided in the pallet 100 a, taken along a surfaceorthogonal to the trailing end portion 103 b of the pallet 100 a.

The second posture change unit 400 is a protrusion provided on thestepped surface 1051. In this example, the workpieces W move on thetransportation surface portion 103 due to vibration of the vibrationunit 120 and fall from the trailing end portion 103 b onto thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082. In this case, a portionof the workpieces W collides with the second posture change unit 400which is the protrusion provided on the stepped surface 1051, and thepostures of a portion of the workpieces W are overturned from thesubstantially rear-facing postures into the substantially front-facingpostures. In this manner, in the workpiece supplying device 10, when thepallet 100 a includes the second posture change unit 400, the posture ofthe supplying workpiece W can be changed to the desired posture.

Here, the second posture change unit 400 is a protrusion which protrudesas much from the stepped surface 1051 as a length L20 illustrated inFIG. 13. The length L20 is a length corresponding to the outer shape ofthe workpiece W. For example, it is desirable that the length L20 is alength to the extent in which the workpieces W cannot be mounted in thesecond posture change unit 400, in order to prevent the workpieces Wfrom being mounted in the second posture change unit 400. As an exampleof such a length, in a case where the length of the workpiece W in thelongitudinal direction measures 15 millimeters, the length L20 measuresapproximately 5 millimeters. In this example, the length of the secondposture change unit 400 at the trailing end portion 103 b in the radialdirection of the pallet 100 a is the same as the length of the trailingend portion 103 b in the radial direction. In place thereof, the lengthof the second posture change unit 400 at the trailing end portion 103 bin the radial direction of the pallet 100 a may be a length shorter thanthe length of the trailing end portion 103 b in the radial direction.

The pallet 100 a may be configured to include a third posture changeunit 500 in place of any one or both of the first posture change unit300 and the second posture change unit 400 or together with the firstposture change unit 300 and the second posture change unit 400.Hereinafter, as an example of the configuration in which the pallet 100a includes the third posture change unit 500, description will be givenregarding a case where the third posture change unit 500 is included inplace of both the first posture change unit 300 described in FIGS. 11and 12, and the second posture change unit 400 described in FIG. 13.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the posture of the supplyingworkpiece W can be changed to the front surface posture (the posture inwhich the protrusion C2 is guided into the groove portion 104) by thethird posture change unit 500. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the pallet 100a includes the third posture change unit 500 at a portion on the steppedsurface 1051 of the stepped portion 105. As indicated by the dotted linein FIG. 14, in place of the third posture change unit 500 or togetherwith the third posture change unit 500, the pallet 100 a may beconfigured to include a third posture change unit 501 at a portion ofthe transportation assistance surface portion 1082 which is the lowersurface of the stepped portion 105. Hereinafter, as an example thereof,description will be given regarding a case where the pallet 100 aincludes only the third posture change unit 500.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the third posturechange unit 500 provided in the pallet 100 a, taken along a surfaceorthogonal to the trailing end portion 103 b of the pallet 100 a. Thethird posture change unit 500 (or the third posture change unit 501) isa nozzle which ejects gas (for example, air and gas). In this example,the workpieces W move on the transportation surface portion 103 due tovibration of the vibration unit 120 and fall from the trailing endportion 103 b onto the transportation assistance surface portion 1082.In this case, the postures of at least a portion among the workpieces Ware overturned from the substantially rear-facing postures into thesubstantially front-facing postures due to pressure (wind pressure)caused by gas ejected from the third posture change unit 500 provided onthe stepped surface 1051.

In this manner, in the workpiece supplying device 10, when the pallet100 a includes the third posture change unit 500, the posture of thesupplying workpiece W can be changed to the front surface posture. It isdesirable that a direction in which gas is ejected from the thirdposture change unit 500 tilts toward a side opposite to thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082 in a direction orthogonalto the stepped surface 1051, as illustrated in FIG. 14. The reasonthereof is as follows. In this manner, in the workpiece supplying device10, the posture of the workpiece W in the substantially rear-facingposture is likely to be overturned so as to be the workpiece W in thesubstantially front-facing posture.

In a case where the pallet 100 a includes the third posture change unit501, it is also desirable that the direction of the third posture changeunit 501 ejecting gas tilts toward a side of a transportation directionof the workpiece W in a direction orthogonal to the transportationassistance surface portion 1082, in order to cause the posture of theworkpiece W in the substantially rear-facing posture to be likely to beoverturned so as to be the workpiece W in the substantially front-facingposture.

The gas ejected from the third posture change unit 500 applies pressureto the workpieces W falling from the trailing end portion 103 b onto thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082 in a direction in whichthe workpieces W are transported. Therefore, a plurality of theworkpieces W can be prevented from overlapping each other on thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082.

Modification Example 2 of Embodiment

Hereinafter, Modification Example 2 of the present embodiment will bedescribed. The workpiece supplying device 10 according to theabove-described embodiment may be configured to include thebelow-described pallet 100 b in place of the pallet 100 or the pallet100 a. The below-described pallet 100 b may be applied to aconfiguration different from that of the above-described embodiment.

In the pallet 100 b, being different from the pallet 100 and the pallet100 a, both the transportation surface portion 103 and thetransportation assistance surface portion 1082 are subjected to coating.For example, the coating is urethane coating. The coating may be coatingadopting a different material. The transportation surface portion 103and the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 are subjected tosuch coating and have the uniform friction coefficient. Accordingly, inthe workpiece supplying device 10, the workpiece W can be likely to movein both the transportation surface portion 103 and the transportationassistance surface portion 1082 due to vibration of the vibration unit120.

In the pallet 100 b, coating may be performed such that the coatingapplied to the transportation surface portion 103 and the coatingapplied to the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 adoptmaterials different from each other. Accordingly, in the pallet 100 b,the transportation surface portion 103 and the transportation assistancesurface portion 1082 can have the friction coefficients different fromeach other. For example, in the pallet 100 b, when the frictioncoefficient of the transportation assistance surface portion 1082 iscaused to be higher than the friction coefficient of the transportationsurface portion 103, a portion of the workpieces W fallen from thetrailing end portion 103 b onto the transportation assistance surfaceportion 1082 due to vibration of the vibration unit 120 is likely to becaught by the transportation assistance surface portion 1082. As aresult thereof, the posture of the workpiece W can be likely to beoverturned from the substantially rear-facing posture into thesubstantially front-facing posture.

In the pallet 100 b, coating may be performed such that the coatingapplied to a portion of the transportation surface portion 103 and thecoating applied to other portions of the transportation surface portion103 different from the above-referenced portion adopt materialsdifferent from each other. For example, in the arc portion included inthe pallet 100 b in a planar view, the friction coefficient in a firstregion R1 on an outer side beyond a third radius which is the lengthobtained by subtracting a half of the difference between the firstradius and the second radius from the first radius may be configured tobe lower than the friction coefficient in at least a portion of a secondregion R2 on an inner side within the third radius. This configurationis an example of a case where coating is performed such that the coatingapplied to the first region R1 and the coating applied to the secondregion R2 adopt materials different from each other. In place thereof,the third radius may be an arbitrary length which is greater than thesecond radius and is smaller than the first radius.

In a case where the friction coefficient of the second region R2 ishigher than the friction coefficient of the first region R1, theworkpieces W in the first region R1 are less likely to move due tovibration of the vibration unit 120, compared to the workpieces W in thesecond region R2. As a result thereof, in the workpiece supplying device10, when the workpieces W are transported due to vibration of thevibration unit 120, the workpieces W can be prevented from beingscattered from the second region R2 (the inner side in the pallet 100 b)to the first region R1 (the outer side in the pallet 100 b) andgathering toward the first region R1.

Modification Example 3 of Embodiment

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 15, Modification Example 3 of thepresent embodiment will be described. The workpiece supplying device 10according to the above-described embodiment may be configured to includethe below-described pallet 100 c in place of the pallet 100, the pallet100 a, and a portion or the entirety of the pallet 100 b. Thebelow-described pallet 100 c may be applied to a configuration differentfrom that of the above-described embodiment. The configuration of thebelow-described pallet 100 c is an example of a configuration which isapplied to a case where the friction coefficient on the mounting surfaceof the pallet 100 c is uniform.

In the pallet 100 c, being different from the pallet 100, the pallet 100a, and the pallet 100 b, at least a portion of the transportationsurface portion 103 is provided with a restraint portion 600 whichrestrains the workpieces W from moving outward to the aforementionedfirst region R1 beyond the aforementioned third radius.

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating an example of the pallet 100 c providedwith the restraint portion 600. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the restraintportion 600 is a wall surface provided in the first region R1. Therestraint portion 600 causes the workpieces W which have moved from thesecond region R2 to the first region R1 side due to vibration of thevibration unit 120 to return from the first region R1 to the secondregion R2 side by causing the workpieces W to move along the wallsurface. In FIG. 15, in order to clarify the boundary between the firstregion R1 and the second region R2, a circle DL having the third radiusis depicted on the pallet 100 c by the dotted line.

More specifically, the restraint portion 600 is a wall surface extendingfrom a position on the outer circumference of the edge portion 102, thatis, a position on the outer circumference pivotally rotatedcounterclockwise around the center of the pallet 100 c by apredetermined first angle γ from the leading end portion 103 a along thetransportation surface portion 103 of the pallet 100 c to a position onthe boundary line between the first region R1 and the second region R2,that is, a position on the boundary line pivotally rotatedcounterclockwise around the center of the pallet 100 c by apredetermined second angle δ from the leading end portion 103 a alongthe transportation surface portion 103 of the pallet 100 c.

When the workpieces W which have moved from the second region R2 to thefirst region R1 side due to vibration of the vibration unit 120 comeinto contact with the wall surface of the restraint portion 600, theworkpieces W move along the wall surface from the first region R1 to thesecond region R2 side due to vibration of the vibration unit 120.Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device 10, the workpieces W canbe prevented from gathering toward the first region R1 of the pallet 100c.

The workpieces W after being moved to the second region R2 by therestraint portion 600 move again toward the trailing end portion 103 bin the transportation surface portion 103 due to vibration of thevibration unit 120. In this case, the workpieces W move again from thesecond region R2 to the first region R1 side. Therefore, within thevisual angle region A2, a predetermined first angle γ and apredetermined second angle δ are set such that the workpieces W are in astate of being scattered in a substantially even manner within a rangefrom the first region R1 to the second region R2.

In a case where the restraint portion 600 is provided in the pallet 100c as described above, the image-capturing unit 201 included in thedetection unit 200 of the picking device 20 is installed at a positionin the pallet 100 c such that the rate of the area of the first regionR1 occupying within the visual angle region A2 becomes substantially thesame as the rate of the area of the second region R2 occupying withinthe visual angle region A2. Accordingly, the image-capturing unit 201can cause the workpieces W being scattered in a substantially evenmanner within a range from the first region R1 to the second region R2to be included within the visual angle region A2. As a result thereof,in the picking device 20, the number of the workpieces W which can beselected as the pickup targets detected by the detection unit 200 withinthe visual angle region A2 can be prevented from being reduced.

In a case where the workpiece supplying device 10 includes a palletwhich is not provided with the restraint portion 600 in this example(for example, the pallet 100, the pallet 100 a, or the pallet 100 b),the workpieces W which move in the transportation surface portion 103due to vibration of the vibration unit 120 gather toward the firstregion R1 side in the arc portion of the pallet. Therefore, it isdesirable that the image-capturing unit 201 is installed at a positionwhere the area of at least half the visual angle region A2 can beoccupied by the area of a portion of the first region R1 on the outerside beyond the third radius in the arc portion of the pallet in thetransportation surface portion 103. Accordingly, the image-capturingunit 201 can cause the workpieces W which have gathered in the firstregion R1 to be included within the visual angle region A2. As a resultthereof, in the picking device 20, the number of the workpieces W whichcan be selected as the pickup targets detected by the detection unit 200within the visual angle region A2 can be prevented from being reduced.

Modification Example 4 of Embodiment

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, Modification Example 4 ofthe present embodiment will be described. The picking device 20according to the above-described embodiment may be configured to includethe below-described second control unit in place of the above-describedcontrol unit. The below-described second control unit may be applied toa configuration different from that of the above-described embodiment.

The second control unit analyzes an image which is the detection resultfrom the detection unit 200 (image processing). The second control unitselects the workpiece W whose protrusion C2 is guided into the grooveportion 104 and whose front surface Wa is oriented in the upwarddirection, that is, the workpiece W in the front surface posture (theworkpiece W as the pickup target). In this case, the second control unitdetermines whether or not the workpiece W in the desired posture amongthe workpieces W included in the image satisfies a predeterminedcondition.

A predetermined condition is a condition related to at least one of thenumber of the workpieces W in the front surface postures and theposition of the workpiece W in the front surface posture. In thisexample, description will be given regarding a case where apredetermined condition is a condition related to the number of theworkpieces W in the front surface postures. In this case, for example, apredetermined condition denotes that the number of the workpieces W inthe front surface postures is equal to or greater than a predeterminednumber.

The second control unit counts the number of the workpieces W in thefront surface postures included in the image which is the detectionresult from the detection unit 200. The second control unit may beconfigured to calculate a value based on the number of the workpieces W(for example, a statistic value such as a rate of the number of theworkpieces W in the front surface postures with respect to the number ofall of the workpieces W included in the image). In this case, apredetermined condition denotes that a value based on the number of theworkpieces W in the front surface postures is equal to or greater than apredetermined value. The second control unit may be configured to detectother types of information based on the workpiece W, such as theposition of each workpiece W. In this case, a predetermined conditiondenotes that the workpiece in the front surface posture is in apredetermined disposition. For example, a predetermined dispositiondenotes that an index indicating a dispersion state of the number of theworkpieces W in the front surface postures included in the image whichis the detection result from the detection unit 200 (for example,entropy) is equal to or greater than a predetermined index value.

In a case where the number of the workpieces W in the front surfacepostures included in the image which is the detection result from thedetection unit 200 does not satisfy a predetermined condition, sincethere is a possibility that circumstances in which the workpieces W inthe front surface postures are picked up by the picking device 20 and noworkpiece W in the front surface posture is left within the visual angleregion A2 occur, thereby resulting in a delay of the cycle time of thetimepiece assembly line 1000, the second control unit does not instructthe pickup unit 220 to pick up the workpiece W. The second control unitinstructs the vibration unit 120 so as to vibrate the pallet 100.

Meanwhile, in a case where the number of the workpieces W in the frontsurface postures included in the image which is the detection resultfrom the detection unit 200 satisfies a predetermined condition, thesecond control unit determines whether or not the workpiece W in thefront surface posture is present in a first detection region W100 whichis a region including at least a portion of an end portion of the visualangle region A2 in the transportation direction which is a direction inwhich the workpiece W is transported within the visual angle region A2in the visual angle region A2.

In a case where the workpiece W in the front surface posture is presentin the first detection region W100, the second control unit instructsthe picking device 20 so that the picking device 20 picks up theworkpiece W in the front surface posture detected in the first detectionregion W100. Meanwhile, in a case where no workpiece W in the frontsurface posture is present in the first detection region W100, thesecond control unit instructs the picking device 20 so that the pickingdevice 20 picks up the workpiece W in the front surface posture detectedin a second detection region W110 which is a region remaining in thevisual angle region A2 excluding the first detection region W100.

Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device 10, it is possible topick up the workpiece W preferentially from that which seems to betransported to the outside of the visual angle region A2 from the endportion of the visual angle region A2 due to vibration applied to thepallet 100 by the vibration unit 120, among the workpieces W in thefront surface postures which become the pickup targets. As a resultthereof, it is possible to efficiently supply the workpiece W in thefront surface posture that becomes the pickup target mounted in thepallet 100.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 16, processing of the second controlunit will be described.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a flow in theprocessing of the second control unit.

The second control unit instructs the image-capturing unit 201 tocapture an image of the visual angle region A2. Then, the second controlunit instructs the detection unit 200 to detect the position and theposture of the workpiece W from the image captured by theimage-capturing unit 201. The second control unit instructs thedetection unit 200 to count the number of the workpieces W in the frontsurface postures in the image (Step S100). Subsequently, the secondcontrol unit determines whether or not the number counted in Step S100satisfies a predetermined condition (in this example, whether or not thenumber thereof is equal to or greater than a predetermined number) (StepS110).

In a case where the number counted in Step S100 is determined not tosatisfy a predetermined condition (No in Step S110), the second controlunit instructs the vibration unit 120 to vibrate the pallet 100 for apredetermined vibration time (Step S140). After the lapse of apredetermined vibration time, the second control unit instructs thevibration unit 120 to stop vibration applied to the pallet 100. Afterstanding by for a predetermined standby time from when vibration hasstopped, the second control unit shifts to Step S100 and causes theimage-capturing unit 201 to capture an image of the visual angle regionA2 again. For example, a predetermined vibration time is approximately0.5 seconds. In place thereof, a predetermined vibration time may be adifferent time.

A predetermined standby time is a time to cope with assembling accuracywhen assembling the movement M with the workpiece W. For example, apredetermined standby time is approximately 0.3 seconds. In placethereof, a predetermined standby time may be a time other than 0.3seconds. In this manner, after standing by for a predetermined standbytime from when vibration of the vibration unit 120 has stopped, in orderto perform processing of Step S100, the second control unit can causethe image-capturing unit 201 to capture an image of ythe visual angleregion A2 after the posture of the workpiece W which is unstable due tovibration (for example, in a sliding state due to vibration) becomesstable (for example, in a non-sliding state). As a result thereof, thesecond control unit can cause the detection unit 200 to detect theposition and the posture of the workpiece W with accuracy.

Meanwhile, in a case where the number counted in Step S100 is determinedto satisfy a predetermined condition (Yes in Step S110), the secondcontrol unit determines whether or not the workpiece W in the frontsurface posture is detected by the detection unit 200 in the firstdetection region W100 (Step S120).

Here, with reference to FIG. 17, description will be given regarding thefirst detection region W100 and the second detection region W110 set inthe visual angle region A2.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating an example of an image of the visualangle region A2 in which the first detection region W100 and the seconddetection region W110 are set, captured by the detection unit 200 (theimage-capturing unit 201). The image illustrated in FIG. 17 is an imagecaptured at a time different from the time when the image illustrated inFIG. 10 is captured. In FIG. 17, the dotted line indicating the firstdetection region W100 and the one-dot chain line indicating the seconddetection region W110 are depicted so as not to overlap each other inorder to clarify the boundaries therebetween. However, the linesactually overlap each other within the visual angle region A2. Asillustrated in FIG. 17, the second control unit sets two regions, thatis, the first detection region W100 and the second detection region W110with respect to the visual angle region A2. The second control unit maybe configured to set regions equal to or more than three with respect tothe visual angle region A2.

The first detection region W100 set in the visual angle region A2includes at least a portion of the end portion in the transportationdirection of the workpiece W. In this example, the first detectionregion W100 includes both an end portion of the visual angle region A2on the negative X-direct ion side, that is, an end portion in thetransportation direction of the workpiece W and an end portion thereofon the positive Y-direction side. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the firstdetection region W100 is an L-shaped region including the two endportions. In this example, the second detection region W110 set in thevisual angle region A2 is a region remaining after the first detectionregion W100 is excluded in the visual angle region A2.

Here, in FIG. 17, the transportation direction of the workpiece W is thethird quadrant direction (the obliquely upward direction in FIG. 17) onthe XY-plane surface in the XYZ-orthogonal coordinate system illustratedin FIG. 17. Therefore, the first detection region W100 includes both theend portion of the visual angle region A2 on the negative X-directionside, that is, the end portion in the transportation direction of theworkpiece and the end portion thereof on the positive Y-direction side.In other words, with the lapse of time, the workpiece W moves to theoutside of the visual angle region A2 from the visual angle region A2through any one or both of the end portion on the negative X-directionside, that is, the end portion in the transportation direction of theworkpiece and the end portion on the positive Y-direction side.

In Step S120, in a case where the workpiece W in the front surfaceposture is determined to be detected in the first detection region W100illustrated in FIG. 17 by the detection unit 200 when detection of theworkpiece W in the front surface posture is performed in Step S100 (Yesin Step S120), the second control unit selects one or more workpieces Win the front surface postures detected in the first detection regionW100, as the workpieces W which become the pickup targets, in thedetection order, a random order, or other orders, for example. Thesecond control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to pick up theselected workpiece W which becomes the pickup target (Step S150). Thesecond control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to assemble themovement M with the picked-up workpiece W. After the pickup unit 220picks up the workpiece W, the second control unit instructs thevibration unit 120 to apply vibration to the pallet 100, therebytransporting the workpiece W to the workpiece supplying device 10. Aftervibration being applied to the pallet 100 stops, the second control unitstands by for a predetermined standby time and shifts to Step S100. Thesecond control unit causes the image-capturing unit 201 to capture animage of the visual angle region A2 again.

Meanwhile, in a case where the workpiece W in the front surface postureis determined not to be detected in the first detection region W100illustrated in FIG. 17 by the detection unit 200 when detection of theworkpiece W in the front surface posture is performed in Step S100 (Noin Step S120), the second control unit selects one or more workpieces Win the front surface postures detected in the second detection regionW110, as the workpieces W which become the pickup targets, in thedetection order, a random order, or other orders, for example. Thesecond control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to pick up theselected workpiece W which becomes the pickup target (Step S130). Thesecond control unit instructs the pickup unit 220 to assemble themovement M with the picked-up workpiece W. During the pickup period, thesecond control unit instructs the vibration unit 120 to apply vibrationto the pallet 100, thereby transporting the workpiece W to the workpiecesupplying device 10. After vibration being applied to the pallet 100stops, the second control unit stands by for a predetermined standbytime and shifts to Step S100. The second control unit causes theimage-capturing unit 201 to capture an image of the visual angle regionA2 again.

In this manner, through the processing after Step S120, the secondcontrol unit can cause the pickup unit 220 to pick up the workpiece Wpreferentially from that which seems to be transported to the outside ofthe visual angle region A2 from the end portion of the visual angleregion A2 due to vibration applied to the pallet 100 by the vibrationunit 120, among the workpieces W which become the picking targets. As aresult thereof, the workpiece supplying device 10 can efficiently supplythe workpiece W that becomes the picking target mounted in the pallet100.

As described above, the workpiece supplying device of the presentembodiment changes the posture of the workpiece W. Accordingly, theworkpiece supplying device 10 can change the posture of the supplyingworkpiece W to the front surface posture.

The workpiece supplying device 10 changes the posture of the workpiece Wby using the first posture change unit 300 provided on the upper surfaceof the stepped portion 105. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to the front surfaceposture by using the first posture change unit 300 provided on the uppersurface of the stepped portion 105.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the workpiece W can be mounted andmoved in the mounting portion 301. Accordingly, the workpiece supplyingdevice 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to the front surfaceposture by moving the workpiece W mounted in the mounting portion 301.

The workpiece supplying device 10 rotates the mounting portion 301.Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10 can change the posture ofthe workpiece W mounted in the mounting portion 301 to the front surfaceposture by rotating the mounting portion 301.

The workpiece supplying device 10 changes the posture of the workpiece Wby using the second posture change unit 400 provided on the steppedsurface 1051 of the stepped portion 105 which is included in the pallet100 a. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10 can change theposture of the workpiece W to the desired posture by using the secondposture change unit 400 provided on the stepped surface 1051 of thestepped portion 105 which is included in the pallet 100 a.

The workpiece supplying device 10 changes the posture of the workpiece Wby using the protrusion (in this example, the second posture change unit400) provided on the stepped surface 1051. Accordingly, the workpiecesupplying device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece W to thefront surface posture by using the protrusion provided on the steppedsurface 1051.

The workpiece supplying device 10 changes the posture of the workpiece Wby using any one or both of the third posture change unit 500 providedon the lower surface of the stepped portion 105 which is included in thepallet 100 a, and the third posture change unit 501 provided on thestepped surface 1051 of the stepped portion 105. Accordingly, theworkpiece supplying device 10 can change the posture of the workpiece Wto the front surface posture by using any one or both of the thirdposture change unit 500 provided on the lower surface of the steppedportion 105 which is included in the pallet 100 a, and the third posturechange unit 501 provided on the stepped surface 1051 of the steppedportion 105.

The workpiece supplying device 10 ejects gas from any one or both of thethird posture change unit 500 provided on the lower surface of thestepped portion 105 which is included in the pallet 100 a, and the thirdposture change unit 501 provided on the stepped surface 1051 of thestepped portion 105. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10 canchange the posture of the workpiece W to the front surface posture byejecting gas from any one or both of the third posture change unit 500and the third posture change unit 501.

The workpiece supplying device 10 overturns the workpiece W.Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10 can change the posture ofthe workpiece W to the front surface posture by overturning theworkpiece W.

The workpiece supplying device 10 applies vibration to the pallet (forexample, the pallet 100, the pallet 100 a, the pallet 100 b, and thepallet 100 c ) including the arc portion in a planar view, by using thevibration unit 120. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10 cansupply the workpiece W along the arc portion of the pallet due tovibration of the vibration unit 120. As a result thereof, the workpiecesupplying device 10 can cause the workpiece W that has not been pickedup to circle around along the arc portion.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the friction coefficient in thefirst region R1 on the outer side beyond the third radius on themounting surface of the pallet (for example, the pallet 100, the pallet100 a, the pallet 100 b, and the pallet 100 c) to which the workpiece Wis transported is lower than the friction coefficient in at least aportion of the second region R2 on the inner side within the thirdradius. Accordingly, in the workpiece supplying device 10, theworkpieces W which are transported due to vibration can be preventedfrom gathering toward the outer circumference side of the pallet on themounting surface of the pallet.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the mounting surface of the pallet(for example, the pallet 100, the pallet 100 a, the pallet 100 b, andthe pallet 100 c) to which the workpiece W is transported has theuniform friction coefficient. Accordingly, in the workpiece supplyingdevice 10, processing of the mounting surface of the pallet can beeasily performed.

The workpiece supplying device 10 applies vibration to the pallet 100 cin a case where the workpiece W that becomes the picking target mountedin the pallet 100 c in the visual angle region A2 in which theimage-capturing unit 201 performs image-capturing does not satisfy apredetermined condition. Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10can efficiently supply the workpiece W that becomes the picking targetmounted in the pallet 100 c.

The workpiece supplying device 10 applies vibration to the pallet 100 cin a case where the workpiece W that becomes the picking target mountedin the pallet 100 c in the visual angle region A2 in which theimage-capturing unit 201 performs image-capturing satisfies thecondition related to at least one of the number of the workpieces W andthe position of the workpiece W. Accordingly, the workpiece supplyingdevice 10 can efficiently supply the workpiece W that becomes thepicking target mounted in the pallet 100 c based on the conditionrelated to at least one of the number of the workpieces W and theposition of the workpiece W.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the picking device 20 picks theworkpiece W from that positioned in the first detection region W100which is a region set within the visual angle region A2 in which theimage-capturing unit 201 performs image-capturing. Accordingly, in theworkpiece supplying device 10, it is possible to pick up the workpiece Wpreferentially from that transported prior to other workpieces W amongthe workpieces W which become the picking targets. As a result thereof,it is possible to efficiently supply the workpiece W that becomes thepicking target mounted in the pallet 100 c.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the picking device 20 picks theworkpiece W from that positioned in the region set in the visual angleregion A2 in which the image-capturing unit 201 performsimage-capturing, that is, the region including at least a portion of theend portion of the visual angle region A2 in the transportationdirection of the workpiece W. Accordingly, in the workpiece supplyingdevice 10, it is possible to pick up the workpiece W preferentially fromthat which seems to be transported to the outside of the visual angleregion A2 from the end portion of the visual angle region A2 due tovibration applied to the pallet 100 c by the vibration unit 120, amongthe workpieces W which become the picking targets. As a result thereof,it is possible to efficiently supply the workpiece W that becomes thepicking target mounted in the pallet 100 c.

The workpiece supplying device 10 supplies the workpiece W by applyingvibration to the pallet 100 c having the arc portion in a planar view.Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10 can resupply theworkpiece W that has not been picked up, as the workpiece W whichbecomes the picking target.

The workpiece supplying device 10 restrains the workpiece W from movingtoward the outer side beyond the third radius. Accordingly, in theworkpiece supplying device 10, the workpieces W can be prevented fromgathering toward the first region R1 of the pallet 100 c.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, at least half the visual angleregion A2 of the image-capturing unit 201 is occupied by a portion ofthe first region R1 on the outer side beyond the third radius of the arcportion of the pallet 100 c on the mounting surface of the pallet 100 c.Accordingly, for example, in a case where the workpieces W gather towardthe first region R1 of the pallet 100 c, the workpiece supplying device10 can efficiently supply the workpiece W that becomes the pickingtarget mounted in the pallet 100 c.

In the workpiece supplying device 10, the image-capturing unit 201captures an image of the workpiece W with the lapse of a predeterminedstandby time after vibration caused by the vibration unit 120 stops.Accordingly, the workpiece supplying device 10 can stand by until thechange of the posture of the workpiece W due to vibration caused by thevibration unit 120 is settled. As a result thereof, the image-capturingunit 201 can capture an image of the workpiece W in a state where theposture of the workpiece W is stable.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-152889,filed Jul. 31, 2015 and 2015-152890, filed Jul. 31, 2015 are expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A workpiece supplying device comprising: a palletthat has a stepped portion and accommodates a workpiece; and a vibrationunit that applies vibration to the pallet, wherein the pallet includes aposture change unit which changes a posture of the workpiece.
 2. Theworkpiece supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the posturechange unit includes a first posture change unit which is provided on anupper surface of the stepped portion and changes the posture of theworkpiece.
 3. The workpiece supplying device according to claim 2,wherein the first posture change unit includes a mounting portion inwhich the workpiece can be mounted and moved.
 4. The workpiece supplyingdevice according to claim 3, further comprising: a rotary portion thatrotates the mounting portion.
 5. The workpiece supplying deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the posture change unit includes a secondposture change unit which is provided on a stepped surface of thestepped portion and changes the posture of the workpiece.
 6. Theworkpiece supplying device according to claim 5, wherein the secondposture change unit is a protrusion which is provided on the steppedsurface.
 7. The workpiece supplying device according to claim 1, whereinthe posture change unit includes a third posture change unit which isprovided on any one or both of a lower surface of the stepped portionand a stepped surface of the stepped portion and changes the posture ofthe workpiece.
 8. The workpiece supplying device according to claim 7,wherein the third posture change unit is a nozzle which ejects gas. 9.The workpiece supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the posturechange unit overturns the workpiece.
 10. The workpiece supplying deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the pallet includes an arc portion in aplanar view.
 11. The workpiece supplying device according to claim 10,wherein the arc portion has a substantial ring shape which includes acut-off portion and is obtained by excluding a circle having a secondradius that is a radius shorter than a first radius from a circle havingthe first radius, and wherein on a mounting surface of the pallet, afriction coefficient in a first region on an outer side beyond a thirdradius which is a length obtained by subtracting a half of thedifference between the first radius and the second radius from the firstradius is lower than a friction coefficient in at least a portion of asecond region on an inner side within the third radius.
 12. Theworkpiece supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the mountingsurface of the pallet to which the workpiece is transported has auniform friction coefficient.
 13. A robot which picks the workpiece fromthe workpiece supplying device according to claim
 1. 14. A robot whichpicks the workpiece from the workpiece supplying device according toclaim
 2. 15. A robot which picks the workpiece from the workpiecesupplying device according to claim
 3. 16. A robot which picks theworkpiece from the workpiece supplying device according to claim
 4. 17.A robot system comprising: the workpiece supplying device according toclaim 1; and a robot which picks the workpiece from the workpiecesupplying device.
 18. A robot system comprising: the workpiece supplyingdevice according to claim 2; and a robot which picks the workpiece fromthe workpiece supplying device.
 19. A robot system comprising: theworkpiece supplying device according to claim 3; and a robot which picksthe workpiece from the workpiece supplying device.
 20. A robot systemcomprising: the workpiece supplying device according to claim 4; and arobot which picks the workpiece from the workpiece supplying device.